What’s happening at the National Wildlife Federation this week?

House Leaders Target Wildlife with Steep Cuts

May 29 – “This bill is a blatant attempt to rollback many of the hard-won gains for wildlife in the Farm Bill, supported by 251 members of the House and signed into law just three months ago,” said Aviva Glaser, Senior Specialist for Agriculture Policy at the National Wildlife Federation. “Instead of building off the success of the Farm Bill, this funding measure takes us two steps back. Programs to conserve wildlife and boost our rural economies cannot achieve success unless given the full funding promised in the recently passed Farm Bill.”

In the Great Lakes region, federal conservation efforts will focus on reducing harmful algal blooms that are caused when manure and excessive fertilizer flow off of farm fields and into rivers, streams and the Great Lakes. Toxic to people, pets, and wildlife, algal blooms can close beaches, kill fish, harm drinking water supplies, and hurt local businesses.

U.S. to Host IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2016

May 22 – The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) today announced that it has selected the United States to host the 2016 World Conservation Congress (WCC). After a lengthy selection process, the IUCN has chosen Hawai’i as the site of the next WCC, making 2016 the first time a U.S. location will host the conference since the IUCN’s founding in 1948.

“This is truly an historic moment for the U.S., for Hawai’i and for conservation globally,” said Les Welsh, National Wildlife Federation’s Associate Director for the Pacific. “It also represents a huge opportunity to bring the world’s attention to Hawai’i’s rapidly disappearing native flora and fauna, and to the many important climate and conservation issues we face throughout the Pacific.”

“Our nation’s kids are out of shape, tuned out and stressed out, because they’re missing something essential to their health and development – a connection to the natural world,” said Kevin Coyle, vice president for education and training for National Wildlife Federation. “We applaud Congressman Kind and Senator Mark Udall for introducing legislation to reverse this trend by getting kids and families outside on a regular basis.”

“If you’re committed to maintaining a habitat for pollinators and other wildlife, you can apply for wildlife habitat certification (and the associated bragging rights) through the National Wildlife Federation. Even planting a small area of pollinator-friendly plants may provide critical refueling for some migrating butterfly or bird, or a hard-working bee, so plant and then sit back and enjoy.”

“We don’t want to stop navigation by any means whatsoever. We are trying to keep the public safe,” said Melissa Samet, senior water resources counsel for the National Wildlife Federation, a plaintiff along with the Prairie Rivers Network, Missouri Coalition for the Environment, River Alliance of Wisconsin, Great Rivers Habitat Alliance and the Minnesota Conservation Federation.”

“Adam Kolton, with the National Wildlife Federation, said the bill didn’t do enough to “sort out the beneficial projects from the boondoggles.” He said it also “hurts taxpayers again by increasing subsidies for the already heavily-subsidized navigation industry.”